Shooting does early VS late

[Darron]

What's your opinion when it comes to shooting does early VS late? Personally I would rather shoot a doe later in the season just so I don't bugger up my spots for prime time (tracking and disturbing area). In addition, I like to have as many does as I can on and around my property from Oct-15 through Nov-15. I know many of the pro's say to shoot them whenever you can, but I go another route.......at least when hunting my own personal hunting property.

If I want to shoot a doe early in the season I usually hunt one of the farms I have permission for around my house that I share with other hunters (most of the guys are if it's brown it's down type and the farms aren't really managed).

What's your take on this?

 

[Diablo54]

Early.

Gains confidence.
Less does means more running around the bucks have to do durring the rut.

 

[DJK Frank 16]

I shoot them whenever I have an available tag and get an opportunity, unless it is close to the rut and there is a chance for a buck to follow.

 

[Johnch]

I have shot a large buck out of the same stand 24 hrs after shooting a doe

I have never found the blood or even the gut pile to scare deer

I know 2 brothers that I hunt with
They shot 5 deer out of the same stand in 2 days a few years back gun hunting in Jackson Co

John

 

[Darron]

Early.

Gains confidence.
Less does means more running around the bucks have to do durring the rut.

Interesting that you brought this up........ I had a situation last year where the buck I shot was using my property as one of it's primary home range. I had a good gang of does, therefore, he didn't have to make as many (I am sure he ventured off at some point during the rut) quests off the property. If I didn't have does to keep him there, would he have stayed close? If I had to guess probably not. They say a buck can travel up to 5 miles during the rut. In this case, I wanted him to stay where he was. I believe having the does close by helped.

This is why I tend to try and attract as many doe as I can (food plots, minerals, supplemental feeding stations, etc) to try and attract more bucks.

Interesting view points so far,,,,

 

[Jackalope]

in my buck hunting spots I prefer to shoot them late. Like January. They're easy to pattern. If I have an itch to shoot one early I have a couple properties for that.

But come late December or January. Look out I have some tags to fill. Those deer are dumb come January. Last year I had em pegged. Get in my stand. Wait 30 min. WACK! Like clockwork they came through at a little after 5.

 

[Mike]

Since I'm into filling the freezer more than anything, I shoot when I can!

 

[Schu72]

The last couple of years I took them early and got it out of the way. I used to always wait and hammer them in gun season.

 

[Beentown]

I will take the first antlerless deer that goes by my stand. After that I will wait until after the rut.

Beentown

 

[Hoytmania]

I always try and take at least one early that way I am not scrambling in the late season to try and fill the freezer.

 

[Darron]

in my buck hunting spots I prefer to shoot them late. Like January. They're easy to pattern. If I have an itch to shoot one early I have a couple properties for that.

But come late December or January. Look out I have some tags to fill. Those deer are dumb come January. Last year I had em pegged. Get in my stand. Wait 30 min. WACK! Like clockwork they came through at a little after 5.

I also like whacking a doe or two in Jan, especially during ML season. For that matter even during that extra weekend of gun season. By mid December we are starting to get some colder weather and all you need to do (atleast in my experiences) is sit over some type of food source next to cover. This could be an ag field, food plot or even a feeder. When the snow starts to pile up and and food sources become scarce, if you can find something they are feeding on it's like shooting fish in a barrel. In ML season I usually just put a couple hundred pounds on my feeders and sit in my blinds with my heater and wait. It usually doesn't take long. In addition, brassicas can be a hot ticket as well if they haven;t decimated them.

 

[buckbuster217]

I usually try to shoot the first mature doe that comes by to put some venison in the freezer, the buck to doe ratio in my area is so screwed up that a doe or two will not hurt anything

 

[Darron]

I read in a quality whitetail journal last year that to maintain the current deer population one should take 2 doe per 100 acres or 1 doe per 50 acres every year. Taking more than this will decrease the population and taking less will increase the population.

 

[jagermeister]

I read in a quality whitetail journal last year that to maintain the current deer population one should take 2 doe per 100 acres or 1 doe per 50 acres every year. Taking more than this will decrease the population and taking less will increase the population.

That sure seems conservative to me. I would think it would take killing more than that to maintain population level, but I've been wrong before.

I just shoot them whenever I get a chance. In an ideal hunting season, I'd choose to let them all walk until after the rut. But the reality is, I don't know how many days I'll get to hunt or how many opportunities I'll have... So I try to make each opportunity count.

 

[Kaiser878]

I read in a quality whitetail journal last year that to maintain the current deer population one should take 2 doe per 100 acres or 1 doe per 50 acres every year. Taking more than this will decrease the population and taking less will increase the population.

I dont know if I agree with this. I think it all depends on the area. I think harvesting two does on 100 acres is a bit low in some areas. I think their numbers are area dependent. SOme areas tend to hold a lot more does than others. THe main reason being amount of available food at whatever time of the year it is. I also think the does tend to shift from area to area seasonally, again, based on food and cover. Take my house for example, right now I have two or three different adult does there right now with fawns. COme december and january, I will have a minimum of 8-10 different adult does, maybe more. I think does need to be managed in a fasion suitable for the area. Although, there are some areas where maybe only 1 or 2 need shot per 100 acres. So I think it is area specific!

 

[rgecko23]

I'll be filling the truck bed with doe this year, I have alot to make up for from last year!

 

[Curran]

I generally like to try and kill one early... for reasons already stated (confidence, meat in the freezer) plus an early doe isn't going to be carrying the genetics of that big buck you hunted all fall since she isn't carrying any unborn fawns in September / October.

Not to say that I'm not going to shoot does late because I love late season hunting too. I'll just adjust the places that I hunt in the late season to public grounds or properties with an over abundance of does.

 

[bowhunter1023]

I have three main properties I hunt and two of them are places I will kill the first doe I get a chance to kill. After that, I'll wait until after the rut to kill one. At our farm, I leave the does alone until after the second gun season. Like Diablo, I like to kill early just to get the jitters out of the system and do a test run!

 

[Buckmaster]

I take my does the first couple weeks of the season.
I try to take the momma does sporting twin button bucks.
Momma gets slayed, the button bucks get orphaned, and they grow up dumber than a button buck with a momma.
It also shortens those button bucks home range when they become mature.

 

[dante322]

I take what I can get whenever I can get it.